


Face Up, Make Your Stand

by MayQueen517



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Anon Prompt, F/F, Forehead Touches, I feel like I should tag for it but it's Andy and Nile sooo, It's about the tenderness, Kissing, Nile likes to give Andy shit, actually she likes to give all of them shit, age gap, this was supposed to be a double drabble....and then it grew, vague mention of World War II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:20:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26059393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayQueen517/pseuds/MayQueen517
Summary: She shuffles closer to the edge, watching the point where the river turns rough, frothy white obscuring the bed of the river.She wonders how high up they are.She wonders how long it would take to revive from the fall.
Relationships: Andy | Andromache of Scythia/Nile Freeman
Comments: 21
Kudos: 97





	Face Up, Make Your Stand

**Author's Note:**

> Uhhhhh, well. Here we are. I didn't expect to write this tonight, if I'm being honest. I wrote this in one go, in a very short amount of time. It was meant to be a little bit of a character study and it morphed. This is extremely unbeta'd, so if you see any egregious errors please (NICELY) let me know!
> 
> That being said, I REALLY love this and I hope you like it too!
> 
> Title from Wasted Years by Iron Maiden.

Nile stands at the edge, staring out at the landscape before her. It stretches all around, as far as her eyes can see, and something like sorrow wells inside her as she wishes, not for the first time, that her Mom and brother were here to see it. She shuffles closer to the edge, watching the point where the river turns rough, frothy white obscuring the bed of the river.

She wonders how high up they are.

She wonders how long it would take to revive from the fall.

“Longer than you think,” Andy says from her left shoulder. Nile can smell the hint of a campfire lingering from the night before and Andy’s unwashed hair. It doesn’t smell bad, it just simply smells like her; like Andy.

"We adding mind-reading to your loss of immortality?” Nile asks, not looking over at her. She can feel the barest hint of heat from how close they stand and the wind that whips around them tugs at her braids curled around her head like a crown. She hears the wry huff from Andy, who shifts away from the edge as if she suddenly remembers her mortality.

“It’s what I’d be thinking,” Andy says as Nile finally looks over. Andy’s watching her carefully, in that x-ray vision way that makes Nile feel as if she’s been split open under that gaze.

“And you know from experience, I’m guessing?”

“Jumped into Eindhoven in ‘42? Maybe ‘44; it was a shit-show,” Andy says, shaking her head, “The weather was awful. I think Booker landed on his head. Joe broke his legs, and I broke my neck. Nicky was the only one who came out of that without a scratch. Lucky little bastard.”

Andy smiles at the memory, the expression rueful as it’s been in the last five years when she mentions previous missions with Booker.

“So World War 2, huh?” Nile asks, knowing that Andy needs to not get caught up in her thoughts.

“Shit-show,” Andy emphasizes, her smile warming as she winks at Nile. Nile can’t help the heat that rushes to her cheeks. She hopes Andy doesn’t see it but she knows Andy’s noticed by the sly smirk lingering on Andy’s face.

“Speaking of shit-shows,” Nile says, lips twitching when Andy snorts rudely, “I noticed we’re close to Paris.”

“Are you implying the city or one of the people in it is a shit-show?” Andy asks, fighting a grin. Nile shrugs serenely, walking away from the edge.

“I thought a fellow shit-show would like to see her other shit-show; that’s all,” Nile says, grinning as Andy barks out a laugh.

“You’re a real asshole, Freeman,” Andy says, strong hand cupping the back of her neck, sending a shiver down Nile’s spine. Nile stares at her, a grin sliding from her face as her mouth dries suddenly. This want, this curling and aching want, isn’t a new feeling. It’s a feeling that’s only grown in the five years of traveling and training. If Nile brings herself off to the remembered feeling of Andy pinned to the ground, well that’s between Nile and whatever privacy she manages to eke out.

“You like it,” Nile says, breathless and aware that Andy is closer than she had realized. She can smell the sweet spread from their morning crepes on Andy’s breath, the slight hint of coffee, and she wonders if Andy would taste the same.

“I guess I do,” Andy says, pensive, as she glances from Nile’s eyes to Nile’s lips. Heart thundering in her throat like the time she jumped off a train (breaking three ribs, an ankle, and her nose in one go, Andy braying like a donkey in amusement the whole time), Nile sways closer.

She doesn’t dare hope.

“Nile,” Andy murmurs, hand on the back of Nile’s neck sliding down to cup her cheek. Her thumb sweeps over Nile’s cheekbone, gentle and rough at the same time. It tears something in Nile’s chest as Andy inhales shakily, “I have an expiration date.”

“Oh, shut the fuck up,” Nile says, just to watch Andy snort, despite herself. “We all have one, Andy. That doesn’t mean we live like it. If it’s your time, then it’s your time, but I’ll be damned if we don’t have a little happiness along the way.”

“You’re so -”

“If you say young, mortal or not, I _will_ deck you.”

“New,” Andy says gently. She doesn’t move away and Nile sighs, leaning her head into Andy’s hand. Andy’s hand is cool, soothing on her flushed cheeks as Andy leans closer, their foreheads pressed together.

"New or not, I want to kiss you,” Nile says finally, plain as she can make it. Andy makes a punched out noise, barely concealed as Nile brushes her nose against Andy’s.

“I’m gonna break your heart,” Andy says, voice breaking as Nile slips her arms around Andy, holding her close. Andy runs so much cooler now that she’s mortal, or maybe it’s Nile playing tricks on herself.

“You think awful highly of yourself,” Nile teases as Andy laughs, the sound a little strangled and Nile isn’t sure she’s seen this much emotion in Andy since four and a half years ago, watching Quynh leave them.

“I don’t want to hurt you, you know,” Andy says.

“That’s life, Andy. Let me worry about me, yeah?” Nile asks. Her pinky finger has slipped under the edge of Andy’s shirt, pressed against skin and Nile thinks of all the jokes Joe made about Nicky and he in Victorian times. She thinks of the scandal it would have made and Nile smiles, warming to it.

“Can I kiss you?” Nile asks softly, nose brushing against Andy’s again as Andy sighs shakily. It feels like the first time they stood at the edge of a cliff together, a week into their first trip around Europe. Nile shaky with adrenaline and a fond smile on Andy’s face.

“Nile,” Andy whispers, leaning in and Nile isn’t sure who pushes forward first. She’s only aware that Andy kisses like the rapids below them and it’s everything Nile has been thinking of for at least four years. Nile hums into the kiss, the buzz reverberating back into her own and down the rest of her body as Andy deepens the kiss.

Nile’s fingers slip under the back of Andy’s shirt, splaying against the skin there, desperate for more contact. Andy makes a wounded noise into Nile’s mouth, as if she’s holding back a moan. Nile pulls Andy closer, sliding her mouth down to the line of Andy’s jaw wetly, like she has thought about since the safe-house in Thailand.

“Andy,” Nile murmurs, breathing hard as she pulls away. Andy presses their lips together again, lingering without deepening the kiss. It’s unexpectedly tender, this lingering touch and the soft hitch of Andy’s breath.

“If we make good time, we can be in Paris in a couple of hours,” Andy says, pulling away, putting the barest hint of space between them and Nile wants to close it again.

“Visiting Booker?” Nile asks, cheekily.

Andy huffs, rolling her eyes as she meets Nile’s eyes with an obviously fond smile. Her lips are puffy and red and Nile is _so_ distracted by them. Nile thinks about the taste of Andy and the feeling of Andy pressing closer.

“I thought we could stop at a hotel first, but if you’re that eager to see Booker, sure,” Andy says wryly. Nile laughs at that, pressing a quick kiss to Andy’s lips again.

They don’t hold hands, walking back to the car, but Andy’s fingers brush Nile’s as they walk, shoulder to shoulder and Nile climbs into the car with peace settling around them both.

**Author's Note:**

> As you can see, I am ALWAYS taking prompts over at [CactusDragon517 on Tumblr](https://cactusdragon517.tumblr.com/ask), so please come chat with me!


End file.
